


Unexpected De Rolo

by MadMacha



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Character Turned Into Vampire, Crazy, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Reunions, Flying, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Poor Percy, Torture, Vampire Bites, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-12 10:28:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17465813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadMacha/pseuds/MadMacha
Summary: Just finished a novel and decided a fic would be a nice cool down while I edit. So here's a sloppy, angsty idea I had.





	1. Chapter 1

The half-orc man gurgled under the boot pressed into his neck, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. He was done. Grog had seen to it when the Titan Stone Knuckles had impacted several times over, leaving not much more than a stew of mangled skin and bone.  


The half-orc still managed a stick laugh. “Just wait till the boss gets back,” the words bubbled at his lips, barely making it through. The Goliath grinned at him, pushing his foot in harder.  


“Then I’ll ‘ave to make wine from ‘is face as well,” he replied happily and repositioned his foot onto the half-orc’s face and leaned in. His foot found the ground with a sickening crack.  


“Oh Grog!” Keyleth protested, turning away from the minced gore on the floor.  


Vax sighed, already moving towards the dark stairwell. “We’ve got one room left.”  


“But he said his boss was coming back,” Scanlan groaned, pushing his hand into the deep gash at his side. “So the guy we’re looking for isn’t here and, I don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly ready to jump back into another, possibly more deadly fight. We should get out of here and regroup.”  


“Scanlan’s right. I’m pretty beat after that,” Pike added, moving in front of Scanlan. One of her hands pulled his away from the wound as the other pushed into it. The gnome winced but relaxed as a soft glow of light pulsed from her palm.  


“We should at least see what’s down here before we leave. I’ll go down and check it out,” Vax insisted and was already moving down the dark stairway before anyone else could react.  


Vex rolled her eyes. “See what you can get out of this place and we’ll be up in a moment.” And just as quickly she was gone, vanishing into the shadows with her brother. Percy’s mouth hung open as though he were about to speak but closed it with a sigh. Keyleth’s hand squeezed his shoulder in understanding and the group started to move about the room, hastily looking for whatever might be valuable.  


Percy thumbed through a bookshelf against the far wall with a frown. “There are quite a few books that seem far more advanced than a handful of thugs would be interested in,” he commented and pulled one down, flipping through a few pages. “Human anatomy, studies on undead and necromancy, quite a collection in potions and alchemy.” His words trailed off as he mumbled through his thoughts. “I would most certainly be interested in speaking with their boss before Grog crushes his skull.  


The barbarian spun around at the mention of his name. “Who’s skull am I crushing?”  


Percy waved him off. “None yet. As you were.”  


Keyleth moved along a different shelf near Percy, her fingers running along a row of bottles with little parchment labels across the glass. Her nose turned up when she came across a red liquid. “Oh… gross. There’s phials of blood here… and a bunch of strange herbs. Some of these I haven’t even heard of.”  


Percy moved over to where Keyleth stood. “Quite a bit of blood,” he pointed out and Keyleth stood up straight, now noticing the stacks and stacks of blood phials along the shelves against the wall.  


“Who is this guy?” she breathed the words but turned with a start when she heard Vax’s voice from below. A muffled cry and something else she couldn’t quite make out. Pike, who had been patching up Scanlan stood up straight, both gnomes hopping to their feet. Grog was bounding down the stairs without a word.

Vex caught up to her brother in the dark stairwell finding him waiting for her with a sly grin. She rolled her eyes and the two made their way below without a sound. At the bottom of the stairs they were met with a simple wooden door. Vex seized her brother’s shoulder and nodded at the door once. He nodded back with a shrug of “yeah, I know” and started to run his fingers along the edges carefully. Once he was sure there were no traps he pushed, gently at first and then with more force when it wouldn’t open. “Locked,” he mouthed the words and Vex held up a finger with a prideful look and pulled her lock picks loose from her belt. Vax crossed his arms in amusement, waiting expectantly. His sister fumbled with the steel hooks before placing them into the key hole and carefully twisting them around. There was a small click and she looked up at him, pleased with her success. Vax grinned and rolled his eyes at her as she slowly pushed the door open. The room was dimly lit by a dying torch on the far wall and first thing the two noticed was the heavy wood table sitting in the center.  


The room wasn’t very large but the walls were lined with smaller tables and cupboards littered with blood and horrible tools. Vax nodded for his sister to check the table while he moved along the walls. Vex stood up straighter and released a small gasp when she noticed the figure strapped down onto the table. It was a human looking woman with a middle aged face and a rat of long white hair stained with blood. Blood also covered the majority of the table and her ragged clothes. Vax let his sister work as he continued to watch her back, now noticing a small, iron cage in the corner of the room with a pile of various rotting animal carcasses piled up inside. His nose turned up but a sad expression crossed his face as he put the pieces together.  
Vex moved to the table quickly, checking the human for any signs of life. A strained, painful wheeze pushed through the woman’s lips and Vex was fighting with the restraints.  


“She’s alive,” the ranger whispered and Vax nodded, still eying the room suspiciously. Once the human was freed of the restraints Vex was beside her, her hand reaching over to the side of the woman’s face, barely touching a swollen cheek. “You’re alright.” Vex whispered as the woman groaned in pain. There were too many wounds for Vex to count and, as she was about to call for Pike, something else happened. In a flash of movements the ranger was not expecting, the woman sniffed once and her hands reached up, seizing Vex’s arm and pulled it against her mouth, two long fangs sinking into her skin. Vex let out a startled cry as the woman clamped down and rolled to the side, partially dragging Vex onto the table, her blood rapidly leaving her body. Vax spun around to see his sister’s face pale and twisted in a panic. Whisper left his hand in an instant, the dagger sinking into the woman’s chest, narrowly missing his sister’s arm. She hissed in response, her eyes snapping open, blood red and glaring at the rogue. He vanished in a twirl of mist and was suddenly before her, hand ripping the dagger from the woman’s chest and pushing hard into her throat.  


“Let her go!” he roared at the woman. Something twitched in her face and the red in her eyes faded into a soft grey, the rabid expression turning to fear. She shoved Vex away, choking on the blood and rolling to her side, curling up in on herself. She looked like she was in pain, breathing hard, tears now streaming down her face.  


“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Sorry. Sorry.” She wept through deep breaths, keeping her back to Vex,who kept a tight grip on her wrist. “Hungry. Dying. Had to. Had to. Didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I’m sorry.” The woman chanted the words in a panic. “Please don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me anymore. Please.”  


Vex and Vax stared at one another in surprise and even through the pain she felt pity. Vax pulled the dagger away from her, her form still curled up on her side and breathing hard as though she were fighting with something inside her. “Are you alright?” Vax asked, looking up at his sister with worry. Vex nodded once. It was about that time that heavy footsteps raced down the stairs and Grog emerged from the small door.  


“What’s goin’ on?” he thundered but Vax held up a hand.  


“Not sure yet… we’re… figuring some stuff out,” Vax replied angrily as the others came to join them. Percy pushed passed Grog, his eyes finding Vex first and foremost, flickering down to the blood streaming from her wrist. Something darker now shown in his eyes, recognizing the wound and his eyes moved to the woman on the table. He pulled the pistol he called Pepper Box free from the straps against his ribs and took aim.  


“Wait! Percy, darling,” Vex rushed forward, putting herself between him and the woman.  


“You know what she is. She’s a monster. She cannot be allowed to live, Vex. You know what they are capable of,” he growled and Vex gave him a sympathetic look.  


“I know, dear. I know… but I don’t think it’s that simple. I don’t think this was her fault. She was hurt, possibly tortured.” Vex’s hand came down to rest on Percy’s arm, gently pushing the pistol down. Percy frowned but lowered the gun enough for Vex to relax and move aside.  


“Not again,” he growled and the gun lifted and fired with a deafening pop in the small room.  


“Percival!” Vex snapped and the woman on the table let out a yelp as the bullet tore through her side and out the front, exploding against the stone wall. She rolled off the table with a whimper and dove into her iron cage, curling up in the corner, holding her side tightly.  


“Percy we need more answers. You can’t just kill her,” Keyleth scolded and Vex moved back in front of him with a frown.  


“I know this hurts and I cannot begin to understand what might be going through your head but if you kill her I know you will regret it. We at least need to find out who she is. What this man is trying to learn from her. Please, darling.” Percy was visibly furious but after a moment his expression relaxed and he sighed in defeat.  


“Very well.”  


Vax was now at the cage, looking in at the woman with concern. “Pike, could you… I don’t know, take a look?”  


The gnome nodded and moved over to him in a hurry, not needing to crouch to see in the cage. “I-It’s alright… we won’t hurt you… anymore,” she spoke in a soft, comforting voice. “Don’t take it personal. Our friend has a bad experience with vampires, you know? I’m sure he didn’t mean to shoot you.”  


The woman’s breathing slowed and she peaked up at the gnome through her matted white hair with a quick nod. “C-Can’t really blame him. I was hurt. No c-control when I’m hurt. Didn’t mean to. Haven’t h-had a person since… since—” her words trailed off as though she were sinking into a dark memory.  


“You hear that, Percy? She didn’t meant to eat Vex… so there’s that,” Pike called back and held out her hand. “Want to come out so we can talk? I can fix up that wound a bit for you.”  
The woman looked down at the gun shot that still bled and focused as the skin pulled closed until the bleeding stopped.  


“O-Oh… thats a neat trick,” Pike commented and the woman started to crawl forward, slowly, her eyes darting around the group. She barely saw the white haired man that had shot her over the table, his eyes and hair just visible but her own eyes went wide.  


“P-Percy,” she whispered through a strained voice.  


Pike turned as saw him still speaking with Vex on the other end of the table. “Yes, that’s Percy. He didn’t mean to shoot you.” This caught the gunner’s attention and he slowly made his way around the table, Vex keeping close.  


“P-Percival,” the woman whispered his name again but this time he heard her. His eyebrow climbed and he moved closer, the vampire now in full view. Percy froze in place, eyes wide and his face even more pale than it already was. His mouth opened as if he were about to say something but nothing made it out. Then his breathing picked up again. Vex looked at him with concern.  


“Dear… do you know her?”  


“N-No. No… this…. No!” Percy’s panic escalated until he roared a final “no” and stormed upstairs. Everyone was caught off guard by this and Vex followed.  


“We need to get out of here. Take the vampire with us. We can ask her questions once we get somewhere safer,” Scanlan suggested and Vax nodded, still looking after where his sister and Percy had disappeared.  


“What’s goin’ on? Should I leave too?” Grog chimed in, looking between the stairs and the rest of the group in confusion.  


“Come on Grog,” Keyleth finally spoke and led him upstairs with Scanlan following, leaving Pike and Vax with the woman.  


“We’ll take you somewhere safe for now. Safer than here,” Vax said to the woman who still stared off towards the stairway before nodding hesitantly and turning back to Vax. Her gaze was drawn over his shoulder a moment as though someone were standing behind him. Her eyes widening slightly.  


“The pretty one in the mask wants you to kill me,” the words were quiet but spoken with resolve rather than fear.  


Vax frowned. “We will have to figure that out later. Now come along.”


	2. Chapter 2

Pike and Vax emerged from the base floor of the fortress with the vampire in the middle, curled up in on herself, barefoot and wincing with the movements. Vex was whispering something to Percy, seemingly calming him down and prodding for answers he was not ready to give. When the others rejoined the group, Percy was out the door without a glance behind him. The other’s looked questioningly to Vex who shrugged helplessly and followed him. They made it outside into a chilly night, heading towards the thick tree line for cover to avoid whoever might be returning to the fortress they’d hollowed out. Almost an hour of silence floated among them until Percy finally stopped. 

“This is going to take a while so I wanted to make sure we were a safe distance away before I addressed the current situation. We just… we didn’t have time for it back at the fortress,” his words were so sudden, several of them jumped, startled by the sound. “I needed some time to gather my thoughts.” Vax was trailing behind them, watching for anyone following while the vampire woman dragged her feet between Grog and Pike. Everyone skidded to a halt and the woman looked up at Percy with fear as he approached her. Vex moved to stop him but thought better of it, however, the woman dropped back, stumbling over some roots and pushed her back into a tree, cowering as he neared. 

“P-Please, don’t hurt me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she started chanting once again, almost on instinct as though she’d begged for this hundreds of times in the past. Percy’s heavy breath steadied and he closed his eyes, calming himself before he knelt down in front of her. She continued to chant the words over and over as Percy reached out and pulled some of the long white hair from her face. 

“Ves,” he spoke her name quietly, doing his best to keep his voice even through the storm of emotions inside of him. “Vesper… it’s me.” 

Her whispers stopped and her breathing calmed as she slowly looked up at him, recognition returning to her face as it had been before in the fortress. “P-Percival?” 

He almost smiled but held a stone expression, his hands coming up to take her upper arms lightly in his grasp. “Yes.” 

“P-Percy. No. No! You can’t see me. Don’t look! Not like this!” She started to panic again, pulling away from his grip and shying away from him. “This is a trick! This isn’t real!” 

“Ves. Ves!” he gave her a small shake before his voice softened once more. “It’s alright. Tell me what happened, Vesper. Have you been here all this time?” 

She stopped fighting and finally made eye contact, her gaze wild but filled with grief. She started to weep, pulling at his sleeves and collar as though testing to make sure he was real. “I haven’t. I was home and then here. I was here a long time.” 

Percy hesitated, obvious pain crossing his face from seeing her in such an awful mental state. Vex stepped forward. “Percival? Is this…” 

“Vesper De Rolo. Second oldest of the De Rolo children,” he replied in a low tone. 

“Your sister? Maybe more of your family lives,” Scanlan suggested but Vesper shook her head quickly. 

“No, no. Had to eat,” she sang but frowned, and started to weep once more. 

“Vesper,” Percy sounded exasperated and tired. “What happened?” 

“Briarwoods came. They were angry when you and the small one escaped. Made me a monster. They brought me father first. Made me eat him in front of the children. Then mother. Then brother. And sister. And sister—” she started to chant the words, repeating them while staring into the distance. Percy stood and took a few steps away from her. His expression was distant and pained, his face pale once more as though he might be ill. Vex’s hands were over her mouth, shock taking hold while the others stared, unsure what even to say. 

Vex reached for him, a hand coming up to turn his eyes to her own. “Let’s take her back to Whitestone. Perhaps Allura or Shaun can help her.” Percy scoffed and looked at Vex in confusion. “Not the vampirism but perhaps her mind. Maybe they can bring her back a bit.” 

Percy fought through his thoughts before he nodded. “S-Sure. We… we shouldn’t tell Cass though.” 

“Probably for the best,” Scanlan commented. “But do we know what time of day it is in Whitestone? Would hate to come through the sun tree and—” he made a gesture with his hands that resembled an explosion accompanied with the sound effects. 

“I’ve got an extra cloak we can wrap her in,” Vax spoke softly, still eying the woman. Vesper looked to him briefly before quickly turning away. Vax rifled through his own pack and tugged a large fold of fabric from it before draping it around her shoulders. He looked over to Keyleth who stared at the vampire with wide eyes. “Can you get us back tonight or do you need to rest a bit first?” 

“I can manage,” she replied in a tired voice and stepped towards one of the larger tree trunks. As her hand touched the tree the magic began to flow out of her but Vesper looked fearful once more, eyes wide and panicked like a cornered animal. 

Percy took Vax’s position beside her, he hands on her shoulders, keeping the cloak tight around her. “There is nothing to be afraid of Ves. We’re going home.” 

“Home? Home… where the stone is stained and the snow is red.” 

Percy shook his head. “Not anymore. The Briarwoods are dead and Whitestone belongs to the De Rolos once again.” 

Vesper’s head snapped up. “De Rolo? De Rolo. I know that name?” 

“We are De Rolos,” he replied and her eyes seemed to light up. 

“We are De Rolos,” she repeated and nodded, following him inside the mansion. With a burst of energy and a loud crack the trunk of the tree split open and Keyleth rushed through, followed close by the rest of the party. Percy came last with Vesper 

under his arm. They were back in Whitestone. It was later in the day, though the sun hadn’t set quiet yet. Percy could feel Vesper shaking under his arm but her gaze came up, turning around to see the Sun Tree. 

“N-No bodies? Someone told the children it’s dangerous to swing from the tree with a rope around your neck,” she commented and Percy tensed, the others turning to her in horror. 

“Your sister’s kinda scary,” Grog commented nonchalantly and started to wonder off. 

“Well, well! What have we here?” A loud, familiar voice called out in an extravagant tone. “Aren’t I just the luckiest man to be passing by when a few good looking customers appear out of the Sun Tree!” Vax was the first to reel around, immediately finding himself in a tight hug, the dark skinned man lifting the half-elf a few inches off the ground. 

Vax wheezed under the grip and managed half a smile when he was finally freed. “Sorry to skip the pleasantries, Shaun, but we have something urgent that needs your attention.” 

The man grinned, impossibly white teeth shining through his lips. “Then it seems my timing even more fortuitous! What can I help you with?” 

Vax stepped aside, revealing Percy with his arms still wrapped around the bloodstained vampire, keeping the cloak closed around her. His face was agonizing desperation and Shaun lost his smile immediately. “Percival? What happened? Who is this?” His tone was more serious now, lower and urgent as he moved towards the figure in the cloak and started to crouch to see her face. Vesper tensed at the new face, lashing out with a hiss and baring her fangs. Shaun started, flinching back from her and looking to Percy in surprise. “A vampire? You brought a vampire to Whitestone, Percival? Are you mad?” 

“She’s my sister,” Percy replied quickly and Shaun’s face went slack. He was caught there for half a second before giving him a nod of understanding and motioning them to follow. 

“Very well, back to my place for a word… or two,” he replied and was already hurrying down the street. 

Keyleth tugged at Vax’s sleeve as they started to follow. “I think it’d be best if it isn’t as crowded. At least until he can see what they can do for Vesper. I know you won’t leave Vex’s side right now so Grog, Scanlan, Pike and I are going to get a drink. We’ll stay near if you need help but all of us crowding into Gilmore’s house probably isn’t the best thing for Vesper.” Vax smiled at her and nodded. 

“Save me a drink,” he replied and gave her a kiss before following after the others. 

Shaun’s home wasn’t far and Percy kept a tight hold on his sister as he steered her in the right direction, keeping to the shadows the best he could. Their sorcerer friend made it to his door and opened it up, ushering the group in through first before closing it. With a wave of his hands, the thick purple curtains pulled closed and Shaun moved passed them, waving the group to a staircase. 

“It will be safer below in my study,” he explained. Percy moved with Vesper at his side and Vex on his heel. Vax brought up the rear, watching the group carefully in front of him. They came to a door at the base of the stairs and Shaun paused briefly. His hands formed a pattern and he chanted something quietly under his breath as a faint purple glow began to shine at his fingertips. A ruin appeared on the door, matching the glow and flashed once before fading away. He pushed the door open and, once again, motioned them inside. The room was far larger than it should have been and packed full of shelves covered in a multitude of arcane items. Some looked rather splendid while others seemed more mundane and less obvious in what magic they might contain. Percy was focused on Vesper and Vex focused on Percy but Vax was entranced. His eyes darted over the room and tables of various potions and ingredients. Shaun was the first to notice his awe and gave the half-elf a sly grin, his arm falling across Vax’s shoulders. 

“Welcome to the remnants of Gilmore’s Glorious Goods. Or the new beginning, I suppose. I was going to wait until after you saved the world to show you but desperate times and what have you.” His hand waved out in a flourish and Shaun. “I’ll give you a tour at a more appropriate time.” He winked and gave Vax a nudge with his elbow before crossing the room quickly to catch up with Percy. “Percival,” he spoke in a gentler tone coming around to face him. “What do you need me to do with her?” 

Percy froze, realizing he didn’t have an answer. His eyes darted from his sister to Shaun, then to the twins as though looking for one. “C-Could you see if there’s something we could do to make her more… lucid, I suppose?” 

Shaun thought on it a moment. “I could try but I’ll need to get a look at what’s going on up there.” He indicated her head when he spoke. “There is a cot in the corner. If you would take your sister there I can have a proper look.” 

Vesper’s eyes darted around the room with unease “He hurts me. Cuts and probes until I’m empty. Won’t eat people. Not anymore. Just animals. Animals are cheaper.” The words were quiet and unsettling bringing a frown to Percy’s face. He loosened his grip on her and stepped around to face her, pulling a few tangled strands of hair from her face. 

“No one is going to hurt you ever again. Do you understand me? Shaun is going to help you and I promise it won’t hurt a bit.” Percy’s eyes flickered over to the sorcerer waiting beside the cot. “Come over here and lie down, would you?” 

Vesper looked at Percy before her eyes turned to Shaun, a look of resignation over her face and she slowly nodded. “Sure. Yes,” she whispered and shuffled over. Shaun gave her a kind smile, though there was some unease hidden beneath that only a couple of the others noticed. Vesper looked up at him and her eyes narrowed. “You smell of sun and sand, marked one.” Her head tilted to one side. “Your heart beats faster when you look at the death walker.” Her tone was matter of fact this time and a visible shade of red crept into Shaun’s cheeks. Vax chuckled quietly from the shadows but continued to peruse the shelves. 

Shaun cleared his throat. “Right… well lets get started before you… perceive anything else.” The vampire now sat on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees, seeming more anxious once again. Percy knelt at the head of the cot and took her hand. 

“I’ll be here with you. Just lie down and rest a bit.” She stared at him a moment before nodding and slowly laid down on the small cot. Her body shook and her breathing staggered but she kept still. 

“I am going to touch your forehead but you won’t feel a thing, I promise,” Shaun soothed and took a knee. His land lowered and she squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the pain despite his promise. His own eyes closed and a thumb gently touched her forehead as a dull, blue glow started to shine from his fingertips. “Sleep,” he whispered and Vesper seemed to relax into the bed. Shaun’s eyes opened but now glowed to match his fingers, a ruin seemingly igniting on his forehead. “It’ll be a moment. Please do not interrupt the spell.” His request was directed at all of them and Percy took that as his queue to step away. Shaun’s eyes closed once more as his finger tips now traced over Vesper’s head, coming to rest in a gentle pressure on her temples. Then he went still.


End file.
